Gala perfor­mance ends in 5:0 revenge

Image information: Austria's gala performance against Italy - Copyright: GEPA pictures/Amir Beganovic

For the entire 60 minutes, Austria were firmly in control. The instructions of Head Coach Roger Bader were implemented almost perfectly, as the Swiss coach himself noted with satisfaction: “Anyone who has followed my coaching career knows that the DNA of the teams I coach is characterised by fast, attractive, attacking, direct ice hockey, with a great deal of pressing and quick transitions. We saw that today.”

These two sentences perfectly sum up the 60 minutes against Italy. Austria played as a cohesive unit, were always close to the puck and gave Italy little space. As soon as they won possession, they immediately drove towards the opposition goal, while Bernhard Starkbaum was there between the pipes whenever he was needed at the other end.

“We improved significantly compared to yesterday,” was also the assessment of Manuel Ganahl: “We had set ourselves a lot of targets, wanted to implement everything perfectly from a tactical perspective and create more of a threat in front of goal. We did that well and created so many chances. This win feels good and naturally gives us confidence as well. Today, we showed that we are difficult opponents.”

Ganahl himself did not get on the scoresheet, but Nico Feldner opened the scoring after 67 seconds. Shortly before the end of the first period, Benjamin Nissner added a thoroughly deserved 2:0. Benjamin Baumgartner made it 3:0 in the 36th minute. Just over six minutes before the end of the game, Dominic Zwerger was brought down on his way to goal. The Swiss-based player converted the resulting penalty himself to make it 4:0. Thomas Raffl rounded off the scoring with 75 seconds remaining, making it 5:0.

“We could even have scored more than five goals today. It was a good performance from the whole team. I am satisfied,” said Roger Bader.

The Euro Hockey Challenge continues next week, with Austria hosting Sweden in Vienna on 28 April. They then face Finland and hosts Czechia in Ostrava (CZE) on 30 April and 1 May.

Camp III, Innsbruck, from 20 to 25 April 2022

Italy vs. Austria 2:1 (0:1/1:0/1:0)
23 April 2022, 17:30, Bruneck
Austria goalscorer: Ali Wukovits (20th minute)

Austria vs. Italy 5:0 (2:0/1:0/2:0)
24 April 2022, 14:30, Innsbruck
Austria goalscorers: Nico Feldner (2nd minute), Benjamin Nissner (18th minute), Benjamin Baumgartner (18th/36th minutes), Dominic Zwerger (54th minute), Thomas Raffl (59th minute)

Four Nations Tournament, Ostrava, from 28 April to 1 May
28 April 2022, 19:00, AUT - SWE, Vienna
30 April 2022, 12:00, AUT - FIN in Ostrava
1 May 2022, 16:00, CZE - AUT in Ostrava

Camp IV, Schwenningen
8 May 2022, 17:00, GER - AUT in Schwenningen

Camp I, Linz, from 2 to 8 April 2022

Austria vs. Czech Republic 1:4 (1:1,0:1,0:2)
Fri, 08 April 2022, 17:30, LINZ AG Eisarena, 1.850
Austria scorer: Erik Kirchschläger (12.)

Czech Republic vs. Austria 5:1 (3:0, 2:0, 0:1)
Wed, 06 April 2022, 17.30, Znojmo
Austria scorer: Nico Feldner (48.)

Camp II, Graz, from 11 to 16 April 2022

Austria vs. Poland 1:0 (0:0,1:0,0:0)
Sat, 16 April 2022, 16:00, Graz Merkur Eisstadion
Austria scorer: Philipp Pöschmann (30.)

Austria vs. Poland 4:1 (1:0,0:0,3:1)
Thu, 14 April 2022, 19:00, Graz Merkur Eisstadion
Austria scorers: David Maier (7.), Simeon Schwinger (49.), Oliver Achermann (PP/57.), Sam Antonitsch (58.)
Poland scorers: Filip Starzynski (47th minute)

Sweden vs. Austria
Sat, 14 May 2022, 11:20

Austria vs. USA
Sun, 15 May 2022, 15:20

Czechia vs. Austria
Tue, 17 May 2022, 15:20

Norway vs. Austria
Wed, 18 May 2022, 15:20

Latvia vs. Austria
Fri, 20 May 2022, 19:20

Austria vs. Finland
Sat, 21 May 2022, 15:20

Austria vs. Great Britain
Mon, 23 May 2022, 19:20